North of Normal - Cea Sunrise Person

North of Normal is Cea Sunrise Person's own story.

Cea was born to a teenaged mother, living off the grid, in a tepee in the wilderness, alongside her counter-culture grandparents. No electricity, running water, formal schooling and few, if any rules. Drugs were a daily part of the life of the adults around her. The approach to sex and nudity is casual and open. When she is five, Cea's mother Michelle takes her on the road with her latest boyfriend, living a nomadic life. And this life is just as chaotic and unusual. As Cea grows, she begins to question the lifestyle - and yearns for a more 'normal' life. She makes her own way - at thirteen years old.

Wow. The most intriguing, gut-wrenching, amazing stories are not fictional, but those that are true. Cea's upbringing, life and the changes that she herself implements are almost unbelievable. My heart broke for this young girl, who has no idea that her life isn't 'normal' until she grows older. I was torn on my feelings for Michelle. Her hedonistic ways are a product of the way she has been parented. Papa Dick (her father) is the force behind the step back from society. While seeing this as an idyllic lifestyle, he has damaged all four of his children irrevocably.

Person narrates this audiobook herself. And it brings to much to the listening, knowing that she is recounting her own story. Her voice is clear and easy to understand, with a slight gravelly undertone. The emphasis and inflections given to passages and events reflect Cea's reliving and retelling of her life. Listen to an excerpt of North of Normal.

I was entranced by Cea's story from start to finish. Highly recommended.  Those who enjoyed The Glass Castle will enjoy Person's memoir. And there's more to Cea's story - it continues in her follow up book, Nearly Normal.

The Ocean at the End of the Lane - Neil Gaiman

I listen to audio books back and forth in the car on the way to and from work. Usually I leave the discs in the car to be continued the next day. Not this time.

Neil Gaiman himself is the reader on the audio version of his latest book, The Ocean at the End of the Lane. There is something magical about hearing an author perform their own work. And in this case - it truly was magical.

Our unnamed narrator returns to his childhood home for a funeral. He vaguely remembers a house at the end the lane and drives down to see if it is still there. When he arrives, he begins to remember bits and pieces.....especially eleven year old Lettie Hempstock, who befriended the then seven year old narrator. Lettie live with her mother and grandmother. Out back of the farmhouse is a pond - one Lettie used to call the ocean. And as our narrator wanders back to it, he remembers more....something dark was set loose that summer.

How to describe my thoughts? The book encompasses good and evil, friendship, love, loyalty, faith, fear, innocence lost, magic, adventures and of course monsters.....It's scary, sad, nostalgic, heartwarming, thoughtful....

Cautionary advice - this isn't a tale for children, even though it is written from a seven year old's viewpoint - there are adult scenes and themes. You could read/listen to The Ocean at the End of the Lane and get something different from it each time. A fantastical tale, a tale of childhood and our fears that most could relate to or perhaps a glimpse into Gaiman's own childhood.

What a treat to hear Gaiman read his own tale - the inflections given, the pauses taken, the emotions imparted - all from hearing them spoken out loud.

And at the end of the last disk, I felt like a child whose parent closed the book and turned off the light with a 'it's time to go to sleep now." And I never did - I always relived the story and wondered what else might happen. The Ocean at the End of the Lane left me with exactly that feeling - and that's a good thing.

Listen to Neil Gamain read an excerpt of The Ocean at the End of the Lane below. You can find Neil Gaiman on Facebook and on Twitter.